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As Rahm Emanuel looks forward, Chicago Democrats look around

Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel announced his bid for second term on Monday, but critics in his own party hope for a more progressive alternative.Charles Rex Arbogast / AP Photo

Rahm Emanuel is running again. The Democratic Chicago mayor officially kicked off his re-election campaign over the weekend with a speech about the bright and sunny “new Chicago” that he’s helped to build over the past four years.

“There is a real choice in this race,” he said, according to the Chicago Tribune. “Whether we go back to the old Chicago that only worked for some, or continue forward building a new Chicago that works for everyone.”

That possibility no longer exists. Karen Lewis revealed in October that she is suffering from a brain tumor, and will therefore not be seeking political office. While the Mayor’s re-election still isn’t guaranteed, he has good reason to feel more secure than he was a few months ago. The woman seen by Chi-town handicappers as his most formidable opponent is out of the race.

Lewis’s withdrawal has left something of a vacuum to the left of Emanuel. The man seen as most likely to take the CTU president’s place in the race is Jesús “Chuy” García, a member of the Cook County Board of Commissioners. García may not have Lewis’s star power, but he commands support from Chicago’s labor movement. Last week, one of Illinois’ major health care unions announced a $250,000 donation to his nascent campaign.

Whether the left’s second choice has a real shot against Emanuel remains to be seen. García is far behind in the polls, but close enough that a run-off election is within the realm of possibility. At least for now, García looks like the most plausible standard bearer for a left that is still grieving what might have been.